deCOALonize.africa Gains Momentum

From West African activists calling for the halt of coal projects to young people in Uganda asking their governments to accelerate the implementation of renewable energy solutions, the last month has seen powerful anti-coal actions - and victories!

The fight for a coal-free Africa is breaking into the public spotlight.

Momentum is building to deCOALonize.africa with three uplifting victories to share already:

Standard Bank sets the record straight on financing Lamu

South Africa’s Standard Bank has stated they will not fund the proposed Lamu coal-fired power plant in Kenya. This comes despite reports that they were a major project funder, as included in the bank’s annual report of 2015.

This is good news for the deCOALonize Kenya campaign and the Lamu people, who have been at the forefront of the contentious court battle against the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA). If it were built and operated, there is little doubt that the Lamu coal plant would not only seriously affect the well-being of local communities, it would also become Kenya’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide.

Ivory Coast enters the fight to deCOALonise Africa

West African activists mobilised and called for the halt of fossil fuel projects. In a press conference held on October 23, as part of deCOALonise.africa campaign, leaders of Young Volunteers for Environment and the local 350 group, advocated for the cancellation of the proposed coal project in the coastal town of San Pedro. You can read a blog post about it here.

If you are connected to an anti-coal campaign, send them this link here to ask them to join the decoalonise.africa platform.

Uganda: Art-meets-Music-meets-Climate-Activism event.

Finally, we’ve seen great social media coverage of an Art Disco event that took place in Kampala, Uganda. The event was a creative open space that allowed participants an opportunity to speak out against the power of coal corporations while calling for a prioritization of a 100% renewable energy solutions in Uganda and across the continent.

This has been an incredible start for the #deCOALonise campaign, and now we need to keep up the momentum.